Daybreak
by Memory Of The Stars
Summary: Mary Alice Brandon and her family move to Forks, where she catches the eyes of a vampire who's attempting to change his ways but, having little luck with it. There was something about this girl, something keeping Jasper from bleeding her dry. A strange sereneness seemed to resonate from her, joy, love, interest. He wasn't used to such positive energy and planned on staying.
1. Phantasm

"When you expect things to happen -strangely enough- they do happen."  
-J.B. Morgan and Ewing Webb-

* * *

**Preface** **  
****  
**Nightmares have more meaning when you can predict the future…

Weaving moments, from past and hereafter, in ways no one could imagine. They terrify, astound, surprise and confuse.

One girl has been lead by them as long as far back as she can remember. Guiding, warning, and counseling. At time's they were small reminders, and other times, major events. But, tonight was different, she saw the beginning of her end.

This nightmare would lead her down a path that would ultimately lead to her final breath.

Their eyes connected from across the room. His gaze had never been warm towards her, but she'd never seen them so cold. He wasn't afraid to draw blood, and Alice knew she was next. Her cell-phone laid on the kitchen counter and without giving it a second thought, she made a desperate dash to it.

She shouldn't have gone home.

* * *

**Chapter One: Phantasm** **  
**  
**I**t'd been a long four days, driving from Biloxi, Mississippi to Forks, Washington. a grueling twelve-hour drive each day, though Alice and her mother, Lillian occasionally stopped at gas stations to switch drivers, much to her father, Edgar's dismay. He was following in the car behind them and was irritated at how often the girls were stopping for snacks, bathroom breaks, or whatever it was they were doing.

Currently, he was waiting in the parking lot outside, glaring at the girls as they waited in line, joking and giggling, Cynthia, Alice's younger sister, was the one who started the joke. Edgar noticed his phone light up, a message preview visible on the lock screen, that managed to bring a slight smile to his lips.

The Brandon family was moving. This happened far too often for Alice's tastes, yet, she managed to hide her distaste for abruptly moving with a grin or two.

Three weeks ago Edgar came home with 'good' news: Pulse Jewelers had shown interest in his reputation and prowess. They offered him employment at their Seattle location and while it was risky to leave his loyal, local buyers, Edgar immediately took the offer, not even bothering to discuss things with his wife. But, that's how things were for them, Edgar made the decisions and Lillian went along with whatever he decided, not even batting an eye, though she was forced to quit her nannying job.

Neither Lillian or Cynthia seemed to mind as much as Alice had. She'd miss the warm weather, having felt the temperature drop from a warm sixty-seven in Biloxi to a chilled forty-four in Washington. She'd miss the friends she'd made and the familiarity. Her family moved often, however, they always moved somewhere around close to home. Now, she'd be in an unfamiliar area she'd never seen or even heard of.

Nevertheless, Alice was excited about the increase in rain, finding solace in the pitter-patter left across rooftops and tapped against windows. She also didn't mind splashing around in the puddles with her younger sister. Forks was also a smaller town, meaning she wouldn't have to deal with traffic from the casino's or beaches.

The girls stepped out, vitamin water's in hand, still smiling and happy.

"Lillian," Edgar called, raising his voice. Alice glowered at him, taking her little sister's hand and walking her to the car, while their parents quietly conversed. Within a few seconds, Lillian was making her way towards the girl's, a slight sheen of discontent across her face, as their father pulled out of the parking lot, not bothering to wait for them.

"Where's papa goin'?" Cynthia inquired, squeezing Alice's hand. Their mother donned a gentle smile. "Well, sweetie, it seems Mr. Heartley wants to meet with your father sooner than expected, he's going to head straight to Seattle."

"Really? So we're going to be doing all of the unpacking by ourselves?" Alice snapped, rolling her eyes. It was just like her father to skip out on helping with anything around the house. "Mary Alice your father work's very hard for us. We can handle the household chores." She replied; a parent's typical response.

The trio got back into the car and completed the remaining three-hour drive. Their new home was fairly close to both Cynthia's elementary, and the highschool Alice would be attending, just a few minutes away from each. The house had the bonus of being tucked away in the woods, away from city traffic, for that, Alice was thankful. She hated trying to study with the noise of the city.

As they pulled up, Cynthia shrieked in excitement, seeing the beautiful wooden and stone house. It was everyone's first time seeing it and Alice could see how impressed her mother and sister were, so she decided to play the part.

"Oh, isn't it wonderful girls?" Lillian exclaimed, turning off the engine, getting out of the car. Alice and Cynthia followed in tow, as their mother walked to the front door.

Before bringing anything inside, they took a quick tour of the house: To the right of the front door was a small room set up like a study, fancy bookcases lining the back wall. This room also had a half-bathroom in the upper right corner. To the left, was the living room, and the stairs leading to the second story. The living room opened up to the dining room and to the left of the dining room, was a recent bedroom the previous owners added on to the house. Across from the dining room, was, of course, the kitchen and pantry. At the back of the house was a gorgeous Solarium. On the second floor were two more bedrooms and a bathroom.

It was decided that Alice would take the downstairs bedroom so Cynthia -being the younger child- could sleep closer to their parents. Alice would also have a bit of solitude, her mother joked that she'd have the opportunity to sneak boys in. Alice quickly dismissed that thought, wanting to focus on her studies.

Before heading back out to the car, Lillian went out to fetch her daughter's coats, as they let their hair down, to protect from the chilled wind. They weren't exactly dressed for the cold weather, Cynthia wearing a long, red dress, with leggings underneath. Her hair was originally twisted into pigtails, but now flowed down to the middle of her back, Alice gently raking her fingers through, detangling and smoothing out the dents. Alice herself was wearing dark dress pants, paired with a light blue halter top. Her hair was worn in a high pony-tail and looped. Both girls were wearing tennis shoes in preparation for moving day.

Lillian came back with a typical child's coat and a dark brown leather jacket, handing them off to the girls. Before heading back out, beginning to bring the boxes in, one by one.

Something felt off about the quaint little town, Alice could sense it. It could just be the strange silence getting to her, she was used to commercial traffic and now there was nothing. Maybe the occasional car in the distance, or a gust of wind blowing through the trees, but, it was quiet. She found herself stopping dead in her tracks, eyes trailing off to the edge of the woods.

"Mary Alice." Lillian called a box marked 'silverware' in her hands. "You can explore the area later, but for now, can you please help me bring the rest of the boxes in before it gets dark?"

"Of course, mama." Alice picked up a box marked with Cynthia's name and carried it inside, up to her sister's room, placing it down in the corner. She started feeling a little off, a tingling sensation flowing through her body and a fogginess enveloping her mind. These were usually the tell-tale signs she was about to get a premonition. Nothing came, though the feeling remained.

Soon after, the moving truck arrived, helping the three women set up their new home, before making the long drive back to Biloxi. Now the furniture was set up in the living room, the dishes were put away in the kitchen, the beds placed in their rooms and Edgar's stuff was placed in his study. All that was left was sorting the remaining boxes and taking them to the rooms they belonged in. Before that, Lillian alerted the girls that since they have a few days to get things settled, everyone should take a break, get a small nap in, and whenever they wake back up, they could work on dinner.

Lillian took Cynthia upstairs, while Alice head to her room, unpacking her linen in order to at least get her bed set up before she attempted to sleep. She decided she wanted her first night to be as relaxing as possible and pulled out her favorite comforter set. Everything donned a pink and gray floral pattern, her comforter, however, was reversible, on one side the background was black, while on the other side, it was white.

As soon as everything was tucked in, she threw herself on the mattress, stretching out and yawning. With all the driving, none of them had been getting adequate sleep. A nap sounded nice, and unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

Her dreams were inundated with glimpses of a male, tall, muscular but lean, with hair falling above his collar. He was always pressing himself against her, pulling her to him, whispering sweet-nothings in her ear. Hand clasping against her cheek as she lovingly stared up to him, a sigh leaving her lips. Him stealing her breath away with a kiss, a rather passionate one.

There was no fear or panic, just a moment of bliss, everything seemed perfect, everything had fallen into place.

Alice was almost saddened when the light rapping of her mother's knock had awoken her.

"What time is it?" She grumbled, rubbing her eyes. "7:45 Pm" Her mother replied. "Cynthia and I just got back from the market, we were going to prepare supper, and if you don't mind, you could organize some more."

She agreed, heading to her bathroom, splashing some water on her face, to help wake her up, and she headed out into the living room, where boxes of books were placed near a set of wooden bookshelves. One by one she placed them in organized rows, separating them by genre and alphabetizing them.

Thinking of her dreams, she realized her head was still blurry, having seen nothing about whatever her visions were trying to tell her. Her brows furrowed, starting to worry and questions were racing through her mind.

What was going to happen?

Who was it about?

Was she in danger?

Was her family in danger?

She needed answers.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the thoughts from her mind as she took a stack of books and headed towards her room, proceeding to organize and place these books in the same fashion.

"Alice." Her mother called from the doorway, hand on the frame. The young girl turned, a smile on her face. "Yes, mothe-" She sharply inhaled, dropping the remaining books in her hand as the premonition finally came to her.

Exhaustion washed over her, dark bags under her eyes. She decided to stop by a coffee shop to grab something to help get her through the day when she saw him. A man with honey-blond hair, the same muscular build as the boy in her dream. His elbow resting on the table, head on his hand while he gazed out the window. The man's breathing was a bit sporadic, almost like he was practicing how to breathe.

He was content until he saw her, a frown lined his face then. And she took a step forward, with the intent to speak with him.

***

"Alice? Alice!" Lillian called, snapping Alice back into focus. Four books were on the floor, a few pages messed up, the result of the tumble. "Y-yeah, I'm alright." Bending down, she collected the tomes. "What was your vision?" Her mother questioned, having picked on the signs as Alice grew up.

"Um, yeah. But, it was about someone I've never met. Somethin' was off about him."

"Well, maybe whoever it is will be important?" Lillian suggested, hoping to calm her daughter down. She'd seemed a bit shaken. "I know you don't have vision's about anything outside of the family often, but, I'm positive everything will work out."

Alice frowned. "It wasn't outside of the family, I think I was going to talk to him. But, it's strange, I don't know him yet, so why have I already decided to speak with him?" She heard her mother let out a sigh. "Honey, we don't know exactly how your gift works. From what I've seen you have very little if any control over it. What we do know, is your visions often come to you for a reason, even if it's just as simple as remembering to take an umbrella when we go shopping."

This helped Alice recover a bit. Maybe he'd be important in the future. Maybe he'd be someone who didn't think she was weird. Her visions usually kept most people away, she'd had very few friends in Biloxi, and she realized she'd probably have few friends here. She'd been passing around the idea of keeping her visions a secret.

The next few hours passed quickly, Edgar had returned home, seemingly in a better mood, and Lillian served him dinner. Cynthia had already been put to bed and Alice opted to stay in her room, for the remainder of the evening. She'd been spending a lot of time in her room -since early teenage years- to avoid her father. Not only could she see through his blatant lies, he'd been telling her mother for the last several years, but she'd attempting calling him out on it. He'd be in a bad mood, -go to work-, and then return home in a better mood? It was obvious he was seeing someone else. And when she'd asked her mother "Don't you think it's strange how papa's always gone?" she was reprimanded. "That isn't how you speak about your father, Mary Alice! He is to be respected and I will not put up with that kind of talk!"

It was far easier to let her mother live in disbelief. The bills were being paid, and Lillian was lulled into false happiness, that would be enough until she could somehow gather further proof.

But, he never left his phone lying around. She'd never had the chance to look at his messages, and she'd never heard who was on the other side of the calls he'd get. She half-wanted to follow him to Seattle one day, see where he was going. If "Mr. Heartley" was actually male.

For now, Alice laid across her bed, listening to the faint conversation of her mother talking and her father barely responding. Along with a drizzle of rain, hitting her window, which she'd left open so she could smell the sweet, earthy-fresh, powerfully evocative smell of rain. She also enjoyed watching the lightning streak across the distant sky.

As she stared out the window, she once again got the feeling that something was out in the woods. Her mind started convincing herself that it was probably the local wildlife, where she was used to someone spotting the occasional alligator or snake, now she'd be looking for bears and mountain lions. And they were fairly close to the Olympic National Park, who knows what strayed away into the town. Still, she got up, heading over to the window, looking out across the field to the same portion of the forest edge she'd eyed earlier.

Stillness. Absolutely no movement. Maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her. She was trying to rationalize why she'd seen a vision of someone she hadn't encountered, and why she'd already decided to confront him. Did he play that much of a pivotal role in her future?

While she leaned against the sill, a slight fogginess enveloped her mind again, her hand clenching around the wood. She couldn't see much, blurred surroundings, foliage, dirt, sticks. Soon enough a structure came into view, wooden, teal trim. The exterior of the house. Next, she saw whatever it was getting close to her open window, where suddenly an intense sting traveled from her wrist through her arm. Yelping, she stepped back, clutching her wrist tightly, as she tripped and fell. Using her arms to catch herself, she examined the pained one, registering that there was no actual wound. Nothing was around her to cause any harm.

"Alice?" Her mother called with a bit of desperation in her voice, hurried footsteps approaching her door. She scampered onto her feet and sat on the edge of the bed before Lillian opened her door. "Are you alright? I heard a loud noise, it sounded like you fell."

She mustered up a sheepish fake-smile, "I'm fine mama, it was just a bad dream."

Her mother had a doubtful expression across her face, questioning if Alice had another vision, or if it was a nightmare. "Alright, honey, try to get back to sleep." Was her reply before returning to the dining room.

Afterward, there was an auditable exchange between her parents.

"What happened?" Edgar asked, no trace of actual concern in his tone. "Just a night terror." Her father scoffed. "Oh, now she's admitting to something being just a 'dream'."

Alice rolled her eyes, laying back in her bed and pulling the comforter over her eyes.

During the next two days, the three girls managed to unpack nearly everything, and the house was mostly organized, aside from a few things here and there. Today was the day both Cynthia and Alice were dreading, the first day at a new school. Nervousness flew threw the house, both wondering if they'd be able to make any friends or even just have someone to talk to. How different were people in Forks, from those they knew in Biloxi?

The morning was flying by, and soon enough it was time for Alice to walk Cynthia to school. They'd taken a leisurely drive the prior evening to locate both schools, which were thankfully right next to each other. Once dropping her younger sister off, she merely had to walk around the track and field to reach the high school. Luckily, Alice left early enough, remembering that she still needed to obtain her schedule and a map of the school.

With storms approaching on the horizon, she hurriedly made her way through the grass and dirt, heading for the small office. Inside awaited a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses, she was dressed rather casual, which made Alice feel out of place. Edgar was the type of man to show off his money, and because of that, he made sure his children were appropriately dressed.

As soon as Alice stepped in, the woman looked up from her desk. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Mary Alice Brandon." She informed her.

The woman rose from her desk, going through several files of papers. "Of course, I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school."

Alice was shown each paper, and the lady was nice enough to highlight which routes were the best to take from class to class, using different colors so there wouldn't be any confusion. At the end, Alice was given a slip for every teacher to sign, which she'd bring back at the end of the day. How she wished she'd been younger, attending elementary like Cynthia, where she wouldn't have to worry about memorizing schedules and which routes to take. She'd just be able to sit in one classroom for most of the day, aside from heading to the gym, or music class.

Seeing Alice's bright smile brought a sheen of confusion across the lady's face and Alice concluded that this woman must've had the misfortune of talking with her father, as he enrolled her.

By the time Alice made it to the student entrance, most of the other students were arriving, a long line of cars going down the road. She was thankful that Cynthia had begged for them to walk since it wasn't raining. Now, she didn't have to worry about finding a parking space, especially when seeing two boys bickering at one another, due to a case of parking lot road rage.

Once she made it around the cafeteria, she glanced at the map, figuring out her next spot. Building 3, which wasn't hidden, she could see a building with a large "3" painted on a white square on the east corner. She melded with a group of students heading inside.

The classroom was small, compared to what she was used to. Alice hadn't attended the biggest highschool in Biloxi, but, this classroom looked like half the students were missing. She continued to follow the students, who were hanging their coats up on a long row of hooks and copied them, before striding over to the teacher's desk. Even her walk was different, carrying pride and confidence, while others slouched, and appeared lethargic.

A metal nameplate on the desk identified him. "Good morning, Mr. Mason, I'm Mary Alice Brandon." Looking up, he smiled at her, taking the slip from her hand. "How are you, Mary?" She winced at his greeting, having never been a fan of the name 'Mary' unless 'Alice' followed close behind. This was partly because her father addressed her as Mary whenever he was angry with her. "I'm well, but Alice is fine."

"Alright, Alice." He gave her a nod, signing the paper. "How is your vision, pretty good?"

"Yessir."

"Wonderful, you may have a seat at the back of the class." He spoke, dismissing her.

It was strange that he didn't bother introducing her to everyone, at her old school, the first thing teachers did was introduce the new arrival to everyone. However, she didn't mind, quickly making her way to an empty desk.

As always, everyone stared at the new kid, rather than going over their work, earning a few of them a scolding from Mr. Mason and some inner laughter from Alice. She was surprised and elated that their work was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Faulkner, She'd already been studying their work and was confident in her ability to pass any pop quizzes that may come. The best part was that she still had some of her essays from Biloxi High she could go over as reference.

Seconds before the bell rang, a couple of the students had already begun gathering their things, ready to head out, earning a glare from the teacher. The buzz sounded off and before they could sneak out of class, he called them up to his desk. Alice made a mental note never to seem too eager to leave this class.

Hands clasped Alice's shoulders, whenever she stood up and prepared to leave. "Hey! You're Mary Brandon, right?" The voice was feminine, shrill and very excited. Turning to see whoever this person was, she was met by a girl with short, choppy, light brown hair, who wasn't dressed quite as commonly as everyone else but still no comparison to Alice.

"Yes, but I much prefer if you called me Alice." She corrected. People began staring again.

"Where's your next class? Maybe I can escort you to it!"

Checking her papers again, she read off the next area. "Building six, Mr. Jefferson's class. "

A thoughtful look came over her features. "Well, I'm heading to building four, but, I can take you over to six!" This girl seemed easily excitable. "I'm Nicole, by the way. My friends call me Nikki, though."

"Thanks, Nikki, that would be great!" Alice returned the smile.

The girl's grabbed their jackets and headed out just in time for the rain to begin falling. Several students formed a group around them, hopefully heading to the same class and not trying to eavesdrop.

"So, where are you from?" Nikki questioned.

"Biloxi, Mississippi."

"Oh, does it rain a lot there?"

"We get a fairly decent amount of rain, nothin' compared to here, from what I've heard."

"Sometimes I forget what the sun even looks like."

Both girls giggled.

"So, Alice, are you going to miss the sun?"

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "I wasn't the kind of girl who has to run outside and get a tan. I preferred going out in the rain and splashing in the puddles."

"Ugh, me either, if I see the sun for more than five minutes, I burn. Last year, I got a sunburn in July and I swear it didn't fade until December."

Nicole walked Alice right to the door, though it was clearly marked. A few students passing by whispered to each other, which Alice was used to. Having visions in class made it easy for gossip to spread between students, she only assumed that with so fewer classmates, the gossip would only spread faster.

"Well, hopefully, this saved you some trouble. The boys around here see a girl from out of town and they pounce as if they've never seen a woman before. Ugh, I still remember my first day here." Nikki rolled her eyes.

Before Alice could ask where Nicole was from, she chimed in again. "Well, good luck! I've gotta get to building four!" She started walking away, waving to Alice as she left.

The remained of the day passed the same, only one teacher, Mr. Varner, made her stand at the front of the class and introduce herself. Also asking her to tell the class a bit about herself, which normally wasn't hard, she always introduced herself as a jeweler's daughter, however, the people here wanted to know hobbies, things she liked doing, favorite T.V. shows. Alice simply stated that she loved reading, and drawing, trying to leave it as vague as possible because she wasn't sure what to even mention.

A couple of classes in and she started recognizing people from previous ones. Among those was Nathan, a boy with short, curly strawberry blond hair, he hadn't shown much interest in her, but he was asked by his sister, Nikki to show her around, and he did, which kept the other boys away. Alice was thankful for that, all of the stares were beginning to make her uneasy.

Nathan even escorted her to the cafeteria, where Nikki waited, excitedly waving them over. Aside from Nikki, four others sat at the table, two girls and two boys. While getting their food, Nathan told Alice everyone's names.

"The girl sitting on Nikki's left is Michaela, she prefers to be called Chaela, spelled exactly like her name, don't make the mistake of spelling it with a 'K'." Michaela was a girl with long, dark brown hair, her features matched Nikki's, almost identically. Unlike Nichole, she was dressed more casual, she also didn't seem to share Nikki's enthusiasm.

"Next to her is Zachary. He doesn't care if you call if Zack." Zachary was darker-skinned, with curly black hair. Alice had caught this boy staring at her quite a few times over the morning.

"Richard is next to him. Don't call him by any nickname-variation of his name. Nikki is the only one he let's give him pet names. She liked to call him -Ricky- because it rhymes with her own." Richard seemed to be sporting a slight tan, must've been an outdoor person.

"The final girl, to the right of Nikki, is Hannah, she's unbelievably shy." Hannah was of Chinese descent, long, straight black hair with fringed bangs. There was also a noticeable green cuff bracelet on her left arm, which had Chinese characters and depicted a dragon. Alice also thought that she was quite beautiful.

After getting their food, the duo headed towards the table and before Alice was able to sit down, Nikki grabbed her arm, stopping her. Nicole and the others at the table usually had a get-together, after school on Wednesday's at her place and she wanted Alice to come along.

Meanwhile, Alice caught the attention of yet another student. A boy who looked absolutely miserable, dark bags under his even darker eyes. Exhaustion radiating from him. Absentmindedly, Alice tossed back her hair, running her fingers through it, which carried her scent across the room. Another male, sitting next to him kicked his chair twice and his leg once. Still, he was fixated on the petite girl. Eyes narrowed, head tilted, as he observed her.

Again, her mind started to drift, feeling fuzzy, a sense of danger overwhelming her, she pinpointed the feeling resonating from behind her, and cautiously she turned to look, locking eyes with the mysterious stranger from her vision. He stood, prompting whoever was next to him to grab his arm, which he yanked free. "I'm fine!" The male spoke, loud enough to turn heads, before heading out of the room without even bothering to pick up his tray.

The petite girl silently made her way to the open seat at the table, watching the familiar man as he stormed through the cafeteria. And as she already knew from her vision, she was determined to meet him.

"That guy who just left, who is he? Does he always act like that?" Alice inquired. Michaela was the one to speak up. "Yeah, he does. He's one of the Cullen's, they're all pretty weird. Well, except Bella, she's the black sheep."

Having not been from the area, a puzzled expression lined Alice's face. "Um, the Cullen's? So they're a family?" She was used to seeing bigger families, but, the Cullen's all looked to be around the same age.

She was staring at them from her seat, taking in their features, trying to figure out how they were family when they didn't look all that similar. One of the boys was muscular, with dark curly hair, the other was way more boyish, lanky with messy bronze-colored hair. The girls could almost pass as sisters, both having gorgeous hair that looked so well taken care of that they'd never seen a bad hair day in their life. The vibe they gave off was completely different. One was statuesque, golden hair, gently waving to the middle of her back. Alice was quite certain she had guys clamoring at her feet, begging for her acknowledgment. The other girl had straight medium-brown hair, and she didn't look anywhere near as haughty as her sister. The only matching feature the family shared was their unusual paleness, dark eyes with matching bags and the inhumane beauty which made them stand out, almost like a light was shining on them, which in turn, illuminated the room.

Whenever that thought crossed Alice's mind, the bronze-haired boy glanced behind them, towards the windows, before meeting her gaze. Her eyes dropped immediately. She didn't like getting stared at, and it was likely they didn't either.

"The big guy who looks like a jock, that's Emmett. The other guy is Edward. The brunette next to him is Bella Swan and the blonde girl is Rosalie Hale. The broody guy with anger issues is Jasper Hale, they're twins." Michael proceeded to explain. "Also, they're all together. Like couples. Emmett and Rosalie, Edward and Bella. Jasper act's like a fifth wheel, though there are theories he hooked up with Renesmee, and they're constantly suffering through an on-again, off-again relationship. Which is why he's always so moody."

"No way, she's way too young! She's like, what, in middle school?" Zachary interrupted.

"She's a freshman, so like, 15-16. He isn't that much older." Nikki chimed in.

Richard shrugged. "It's not like the two are ever around each other."

"So, they're adopted?" Alice asked, noting their separate surnames. Now their lack of resemblance made sense.

"Oh, yeah! Dr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted Edward and Emmett. Rosalie and Jasper are foster children, been with the Cullens since they were kids. Bella is actually Mrs. Cullen's younger sister, but after a tragedy in the family, they took her in and Renesmee is their biological daughter. Strange thing to name a child, but, whatever works." Michaela finished explaining.

Alice looked up to see the bronze-haired boy still watching her. Not quite with the same intensive stare, Jasper had given her, but still enough to send a shiver down her spine.

The remainder of the day passed the same, Edward continued to unnerve her any time she saw him, as did the blonde girl, Rosalie. Emmett and Bella didn't seem to mind Alice's presence. Things got better when school let out, and Nikki offered to drive her and Cynthia home.

Edward and Rosalie's stares were engraved into her mind, and no matter where she went, her nerves were keeping her on the edge of her seat. Maybe getting to know the Cullen's were a bad idea, maybe she shouldn't speak with Jasper in the cafe. Not until she knew exactly what she'd be getting herself into.

**TO BE CONTINUED….**


	2. Encounter

**Chapter Two: Encounter**

"Our family is in danger because of his actions!" The bronze-haired boy exclaimed. He and four others stood in the living room if the Cullen's home, while they complained of Jasper's actions during lunch that prior day. The prissy-blonde girl joined him. "Not only did he cause a scene, but, he left the school unauthorized. People are going to talk."

"Families bicker all the time…" A caramel-brown haired woman spoke up, trying to calm the two in front of her.

"And what are we going to do if he kills someone? Tell the Volturi that it was all just a misunderstanding? Why are we continuing to add more reasons to their list?" Rosalie huffed, crossing her arms. The older woman only shook her head. "Jasper is still new to our lifestyle. It's hard on-."

"That is understandable, but revealing ourselves to the locals isn't!" Edward interrupted.

A frown lined the brunette's perfect lips. "That is enough. Both of you!" Raising her voice, the seemingly docile woman easily quieted her children, earning apologetic glances from both of them.

The front door opened seconds later, two pairs of footsteps approaching.

"One girl's awareness isn't going to jeopardize our status. You know this." An older blond male spoke, using a gentle tone. "What does she know?" He added.

"She knows what we are. She's aware our venom burns, she's knows we're dangerous, that she should fear us. And whatever else Jasper told her." Edward spoke as if Jasper weren't standing a mere few feet away.

"I never said a word to that girl."

"Then how does she know?"

"We'll keep an eye on her, that's all we can do for now. As a precaution, I'll call the school, tell them Jasper is going to be absent for a few days because he came down with something. Listen in on her conversations, figure out exactly how much she knows. If necessary, we'll move." The older male spoke, dismissing the conversation, Edward and Rosalie walking away unsatisfied.

Once those two were out of sight, the caramel-haired woman turned to Jasper. "Have you been talking to that girl?"

He sighed. "No. She hasn't even been in town for a week. Esme, I wouldn't endanger your family."

She shook her head. "You're part of this family too. No matter how hot-headed those two get."

Throughout his immortal life, Jasper hadn't made many actual friends, though, whenever he spoke with Esme or Carlisle, he was often comforted. In his mind, both of them were too good for this world and too kind-hearted to be vampires.

This was the reason Jasper stayed around. He wanted to think of himself as their guardian, someone who could see through deceit. Sure, they had Edward and his ability to read minds, but, this self-given responsibility gave Jasper a purpose. And what Edward had failed to mention, is that if Alice did pose a risk to the family, Jasper planned on eliminating her quickly.

Which led to Alice having another string of nightmares. Dying in a dark alley in one, being pulled into the forest and suffocated in another. She suffered through death after death, which made her waking hours horrid. Tired, sore, mentally clouded as her powers tried to figure out what it was warning her about.

And what made her feel worse was the fact that during lunch, she earned, even more, glares from the Cullen's. Nearly a week had passed, without Jasper appearing once, which was beginning to affect her mood. Nikki was beginning to get concerned, whenever their first study session had gone so well, but come to the second session, Alice barely participated.

Her mind was worn, frequent headaches, a dull burning in her throat, and those damn Cullen's kept staring at her. Every. Day. She was getting sick of it and one day, in the middle of lunch, she stood from her seat before walking over to their table. Originally she planned to be rude, give them the same amount of hostility she was feeling from them, however, approaching the table stole her nerve.

"Excuse me, did I do something to offend you?" She questioned, eyeing both Edward and Rosalie, seeing them as the biggest threats. "N-No, not at all," Bella answered, giving Edward a nervous glance. The blonde just rolled her eyes, looking away.

"Well then, I'd like you to stop staring at me," Alice replied with confidence, which made the brute snicker.

Turning, she planned to walk back to her table and sit back down, hopefully, to finish her meal peacefully. Yet, she stopped, closing her eyes for a moment, focusing on her first vision, the honey-blond boy at the cafe. Alice looked back over her shoulder, with a concerned expression. "Is Jasper alright?"

Her comment didn't catch them off guard, though they all exchanged a glance which humans wouldn't notice.

"He's sick. Nothing to worry about." The boyish one replied.

Alice returned to her seat, friends staring at her wide-eyed. "Dude, what the hell was that?" Nikki was absolutely flabbergasted. "No one has ever addressed the Cullen's like that!" Richard exclaimed, keeping his voice down. "What they're like, mafia or something?"

A puzzled look crossed Nikki's face as she turned her attention to Richard. "Mafia?"

"Yeah, I mean, they dress all fancy, they're loaded and they don't even try to make friends outside of their group. Mafia."

Alice softly chuckled. "I doubt they're mafia. I mean, maybe Emmett and Rosalie, but the other two don't seem like it. Edward's a bit too scrawny and Bella look's like she can't hurt a fly."

"Oh?" Richard challenged. "What about Jasper? Missing from school for days, anger issues, don't have a girlfriend cause he hasn't found anyone cool with the whole mafia biz."

Nikki shrugged, "Yeah, you have a point there."

Thankfully the Cullen's had ceased their stares and Alice's week got a bit better, some of her natural cheeriness returning. Until economics class on Friday. Hannah stuck close to Alice, and while she was normally silent, only conversing whenever the teacher asked them to discuss techniques with their neighbor, today she decided to spark a conversation.

"You've been distracted lately. What's on your mind?"

The raven-haired pixie was startled by her friend's voice breaking the usual awkward silence. "Huh? No, I'm fine." She replied quickly, keeping her eyes down.

Hannah took a deep breath. "I know you like him. You glance over at the Cullen's table every day looking for him."

Immediately Alice realized she was referring to Jasper. "I'm just worried. It's been 17 days. I've never been sick that long…"

"His father's a doctor, whenever any of the Cullen's get sick, they're usually out for a little longer than necessary just to make sure the illness doesn't spread. Jasper's been well for a few days, he frequently visits the cafe I work at." She confessed, giving Alice a sympathetic smile. "I figured he would've come back to class by now. But, he hasn't. And since you've been so worried, I decided to tell you."

Jasper was visiting a local cafe, instead of coming to school. At least Alice finally knew why she'd decided to approach him. She was worried, concerned for his health and he'd been on her mind a lot lately. Her stomach dropped, a warmth fluttering around at the thought of seeing him again, a hue of red spreading across her face.

"Just take a chance, I'm sure he'll like you too." Hannah encouraged her. Alice couldn't figure out if that was a sweet gesture, or not. Since everyone was always talking about his 'anger issues'. "He's not as bad as everyone makes him seem. People just like to label others, they see a characteristic they don't like in someone and they can't wait to slap a negative label on them. Jasper is quiet. He doesn't really talk to anyone, including his siblings. I don't think he's angry, I think he's sad."

Hannah's explanation of Jasper made sense to Alice since back in Biloxi, she was quite the loner, being label as a witch and a changeling by practically anyone who knew about her visions. Maybe he hid a similar gift? After all, she couldn't be the only person in the world with a supernatural gift.

"Alright, so, when and where…" She wasn't going to let him feel loneliness like she had.

"Miss Brandon!" The teacher called rather loudly, getting her attention. "Perhaps you've already passed this class back in Biloxi, but here, you haven't. Please answer when I call on you."

"Er, what?" She muttered, embarrassed.

The teacher sighed. "In his attachment theory regarding parents and children, John Bowlby defined four elements of attachment. Which of these did he say enables a young child to explore the environment?"

"A secure base. Which is often a parent, though occasionally a child may attach themselves to a sibling, aunt or uncle or even a pet. Having such security urges the child to explore the environment with the knowledge that they may return to their base for safety and comfort whenever they encounter a threat or gets overwhelmed." If he would've given her any other question, she may have faltered, but, whenever Cynthia was young, Alice became her attachment, and Lillian had to explain why Cynthia got so upset whenever she left.

The teacher didn't bother saying if she was correct or not, simply continuing with the lesson.

After class, Hannah gave Alice directions to a small cafe named "A shot in the dark", which used to be a drive-thru coffee stand, but in recent years had turned into a small shop. It was between the school and her house and Jasper usually arrived around 5:45 PM around sunset. Once school ended, Alice picked her kid-sister up, and dropped her off at home, telling her mother that she'd be meeting up with a friend to study, later that afternoon.

Before that, she'd have to change, and get ready for the evening, since her parents hated whenever she'd go out in her school clothes. They were meant to be worn to nice occasions, not to coffee shops, and frankly, Alice Agreed. She'd spilled dark coffee on a light-colored blouse one too many times.

Heading to her room, Cynthia's footsteps followed in tow. It wasn't often her big sister went out and she wanted details. "Who're you meetin' up with?" She questioned, watching Alice's every move.

"Just a friend from school." She mused, taking off her jacket and laying it across her vanity chair. "It's not Nikki?" Cynthia was bewildered. Alice hadn't been able to get in another word before she started bantering. "Is i Y?" Her voice was loud. Thankfully Edgar wasn't home to make the moment worse.

"Hush, you know how mama will react."

"So it **is** a boy!" The younger girl exclaimed triumphantly. "Yeah, it is. But, it's not like that, I don't like-like him." By this point, Alice was stripped down to her undergarments, pulling out new clothes from her dresser. She'd chosen light blue-jeans, a beige flutter sleeved top with black lace around the neckline, and a brown/tan flannel to act as a jacket. It wasn't too cold outside.

"Why not? Doesn't he think you're pretty? I think you are."

Alice chuckled. " I don't know, he might. But, not every friendship between a boy and a girl means they're dating or going to date." She alerted her younger sister, not wanting Cynthia to marry the first guy she met, as their mother had.

Rather than listening to her sister's advice, Cynthia just continued to prattle on.

"Is it Nathan?"

"No."

"Richard?"

"No."

"Zachy?"

A sigh. "Still no."

"Gregory?"

"Who?"

"I dunno."

Both girls' moved from Alice's bedroom to her bathroom, where Alice grabbed her brush and began combing her hair. There were days where this was a task since she'd always kept it so long, but in the end, she usually prevailed and when she didn't there were hairbands.

She decided to go with an elegant bun, wisps of hair lining her face. It was simple enough and with her exhaustion and limited time, she didn't want to do anything extravagant. With her remaining time, she put on some basic makeup, nothing drastic, just enough to keep her busy. Whenever 5:30 PM hit, she slipped on some winter boots at the door and headed out into the mist, before her mother could say a word.

And now, a 20-minute walk later and Alice was only a block away from the cafe, pacing, hesitating. Her stomach churning more and more the closer she got.

"What do I even say?" She mumbled to herself, having not prepared anything. "What if he's not alone?" Alice sighed, closing her eyes. "I can do this. He's just a boy, I've talked to boys before." She huffed. "What am I even saying… He's a person just like me. I'm overthinking this."

Slowly, she made her way down the small hill and into the coffee shop doors, where she was met with the chime of bells. The aroma of coffee immediately hitting her nose, and the soft music playing added to the atmosphere. Stepping into the cafe, she scanned the costumers, easily locating Jasper in a back corner booth. Hearing the bells, he looked up to meet her gaze, and as her vision foretold, he didn't look too pleased to see her.

Nevertheless -with newfound confidence- she strode towards him, stopping just in front of the table. "Good evening, Jasper, would you mind if I sat with you?" She questioned with a silvery tone. Again he looked up, an eyebrow raised in disbelief that she'd actually addressed him. "Suppose you could." He replied, dully.

Alice quickly slid into the booth across from him. "You've kept me waiting long enough." Were the first words out of her mouth. Originally she'd meant to keep that as an inner monologue, but, it slipped out whenever she examined his features. Those once black eyes were now dark amber, the hues were more orange than yellow and the purplish bruises had faded. He didn't look as rugged as he had in the cafeteria.

"I'm sorry ma'am, didn't realize I had a place to be." He amused her.

"Are you feeling better? I heard you were sick."

His eyes traveled back to the table. "I'm as well as I can be." It appeared as if he was holding his breath, swallowing harshly. "What brings you to this shop?"

"Well, I needed a place to take shelter from the rain, and I noticed you." She flashed him a nervous smile, not wanting to tell him that she'd been looking forward to their meeting since the night she moved in.

"Shelter?" He questioned, glancing out the window to the gently falling rain, which quickly sprouted into a downpour. Jasper looked back at her curiously, the forecast only called for light, misting showers, nothing heavier.

A streak of lightning shot across the sky, turning night to day, a loud crack following close behind.

"Look's like you could give the weatherman a run for his money." The male subconsciously stirred the coffee in front of him, which seemed to have gotten cold. "I'm a little intuitive." A nervous giggle escaped her lips.

"Oh, really?"

She shrugged. "I could probably make a killing at palm reading."

A waitress approached, smiling at the duo. Joy radiated from her. "Can I get you anything, sweetheart?"

"Some black tea would be nice," Alice replied, returning the smile. It was far too late for her to even consider drinking coffee. She'd be up for hours. Once her order was in, the waitress left.

Jasper was keeping a close eye on his new companion's emotions. Nervous, excited, happiness, admiration, amusement. Mainly positive, and all while in his company. This was still a strange concept for him, but, feeling her positive energy flow into him was nice. A change of pace from the negativity he was used to.

They spent a few seconds in awkward silence, maintaining eye contact. "Why don't we test that intuition of yours?"

"Hmmm?" She hummed. "Have something in mind?"

Moving his arm across the table, he turned his palm towards her. "What do you see in my future?"

Warmth rushed to her cheeks, as embarrassment overflowed, causing Jasper to give her that ravenous glare yet again. He easily intimidated her. "Oh, well." Reaching out for his hand, she felt his icy, stone-like skin. She didn't pay much attention to this oddity while her fingers traced a horizontal line on his palm from below his ring finger to the pinkie. Alice decided to focus solely on him, try and force his future possibilities out. He gets his answers, and she'd know more about him.

The first line was broken in places with smaller lines crossing vertically over.

A shiver went down her spine, her vision fading to black, as the fog returned to her mind. She and Jasper were on a gravel path, walking through the woods. Both smiling and laughing as she pulled on his arm, leading him through the trails until they came to a wooden platform that overlooked the lower areas of the park.

He stayed quiet for this event, monitoring her.

Whenever she snapped back into focus, she moved to the next horizontal line. This one was also broken, but only once, not several like the previous mark. Another glimpse into the future, this time showing them browsing an outlet store, both of them going through racks of clothing, his arm moving around her waits and clasping her hip.

Her emotions spiked. Anxiety, love.

But, Alice continued, moving to a curved line just below the previous. It was short a shallow. This one didn't come with a defined vision, only showing their hands intertwined together.

The small girl's head began throbbing at this point, nausea quickly moving through her chest. Tightly shutting her eyes, Alice attempted to push back the sickening, stomach-churning feeling, hoping she could will herself to ignore the painful drumming behind her temples. This happened each time she tried to force her ability to work.

A minute later, she reopened her eyes, tracing the last line was straight and vertical, which withheld a flash of their lips connecting. The petite girl jerked her hand away, heart race increasing, concern and confusion making their presence known.

"That bad?" He inquired, moving his hand back.

She breathed out a soft, "No…", shaking her head. "No, it's not that, it's…" Feeling her level of panic, he finally decided to ease her stress. Allowing her to only feel calm. Alice spoke again when her breathing slowed. "Your future… Well… if I'm correct, I'd say it's positive." Her voice was meek. Uncertainty filled her mind. She knew from her dreams that she and Jasper were bound to have a fling. Seeing it clearly was different. He was practically a stranger and she already had an unwavering attachment to him.

Her head was still pounding, moving from her temples to behind her eyes, darkness taking splotches out of her vision.

"Alice?" Jasper called, noticing that she was beginning to look a bit pale.

Pressing her hands to her temples, she closed her eyes again, losing the battle against the pain. "I'm fine. I just get common migraines, it might just be all the scents." Alice moved to stand up, her body feeling heavy. "I probably just need a bit of fresh air." Scooting out of the booth, she rose, her dominant leg immediately giving from under her as she collapsed, losing consciousness. Jasper was immediately up from his seat, catching the girl before she was able to hit her head on anything and risk opening a wound.

The waitress who was bringing Alice her tea caught sight of the scene and started rushing over, while Jasper calmly finished the cell phone his jacket pocket dialing a number he'd been getting too familiar with.

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Aspiration

**Chapter Three: Aspiration**

"No, she's still responsive." A male's voice reverberated. Though the unconscious girl hadn't understood a word that was said. Everything sounded muffled.

Alice wasn't exactly sure what had happened, she barely recalled being in a coffee shop. One second talking to Jasper, the next she was engulfed in darkness. Currently, her vision and hearing were impaired, only seeing white blotches of lights and only hearing illegible muttering whenever someone spoke, which was accompanied by the constant buzz of the music playing in the background. Her first response was to try and figure out what happened, and instinctively she tried to get up, only to be kept down by two sets of hands. On her left side, the hands were small, warm. On the right, the hand was larger, cold.

"Jasper?" She questioned, moving her hand over his, her fingers squeezing around him. "Yes." He confirmed, either to Alice or to whoever was on the other end of the line. Without influencing her, he could feel her sudden trust in him. Though he didn't think anything of it, he was the only familiar object in an unfamiliar setting, it was natural for her to cling to whatever normalcy possible.

"How are you feeling?" The waitress asked, curiously glancing between the two, trying to figure their relationship out. Jasper frequently visited, and she knew the Brandon's recently moved to town, yet, these two seemed mismatched. Perhaps it was because the Cullen's normally kept to themselves, it was strange to see someone else around them. "I've been better," Alice replied, with a half chuckle.  
At least she could understand what people were saying now. Even the music, which had been just white noise, was now definable. And her memory was clearer now, recalling the intense headache which led her to the ground. "Oh my god, you're going to tell my parents," Alice spoke a second later, coming to the realization that Jasper was likely talking to his father. "I'd be best for your parents to know, in case this happens again, dear." The waitress cooed.

Blinking, her vision started to clear, the different shades of browns, tans, and reds becoming distinguishable from each other. The bright blotches were now diming and taking the form of fairy lights and lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. The waitress stood, seeing that Alice was conscious, one hand placed over her stomach, her skin was glowing, showing that she was with child. Jasper kept her supported while talking on the phone, looking away from her, seemingly focusing on the dust which had collected under the table.

He hung up the phone, sliding it into his pocket, before moving his hands under her, picking the petite girl up and sitting her back in the booth. His movements were quick and flawless, impressing the onlookers.

"I asked my father to come and make sure you were alright before you head home." His tone was soft, letting no one aside from Alice hear his words.

"You didn't have to."

"Alice… You hit your head."

She gave him a puzzled look. "But, I feel fine?"

Jasper was currently feeding her lies, false, negative emotions. Anxiety, displeasure. Planning to keep her there long enough for Edward to lock onto her mind, try and decipher what she knew about them. If she knew anything. And it was a way for him to clear his name, Edward would see that he hadn't told her a thing.

Turning to face the waitress, he explained the situation and assured her not to worry about Alice, as she was in good hands. She was content with his words, -whether she wanted to be or not-, and continued tending to the other customers.

But, being in close proximity with two humans was starting to take a toll on him. Both the girl's scents mingling and tempting him, Alice's pulse quickened as a surge of anxiety flowing through her. His hunger was amplifying, eyes locked on the woman walking away. The wood of the table cracking beneath his hand, while he attempted to resist the frenzies pull, his urge to slaughter everyone in the restaurant. He'd recently fed, yet hunger was plaguing him again, burning the base of his throat, creeping up, urging him to act on his instincts.

The expression on his face was fierce and a wave of worry extended from the small human next to him. Before he had the chance to relax her, she placed her hand over his, fingers curling around him. Her concern remained but was joined by a mix of yearning and nervousness. She was shyly glancing down, the corners of her mouth tugged upwards, positive emotions flowing into him.

He turned his hand, cupping theirs together. Alice was a very good distraction, able to break through his hold, just to comfort him. From seeing her in the cafeteria, he could feel the strange attachment she held for him, and it increased each minute they were together.

Jasper thought about whisking her away, turning her, and whenever her transformation was complete re-joining Peter and Charlotte and traveling the world. Surely, with Alice at his side, he wouldn't struggle with the negative emotions his victims emitted. Her emotions would easily overpower them. But, he had no guarantee that she'd accept his vampiric identity.

Absentmindedly, he began stroking the back of her hand with his thumb, which awarded him with a stronger flow of desire. And Alice began to consider pursuing a relationship with him. If both of them had been older, not living under their parent's roof, she would've strongly suggested a one-night stand between them. Maybe after one night, she'd asked for another evening, entertaining the idea of having frequent visits with him.

The cafe bell chimed again, an older blond male walking in. His iris's nearly matched Jasper's, aside from the traces of orange. Exhaustion plagued him, having similar purplish bruises under his eyes. This was definitely Jasper's father, Doctor Cullen. Following him inside was the moody bronze-haired Cullen, much to Jasper's disapproval.

"Mary was it?" The doctor called, approaching the table, both his sons exchanging glances, Edward's flickering down to their clasped hands, which certainly wasn't helping Jasper's innocence plea.

"Alice." She corrected, her eagerness lessening, as her nerves increased, intimidated by not only how young the doctor looked but how the entire Cullen family shared this strange otherworldly beauty. "Alice." He repeated, "I heard you took quite the spill. How do you feel now?"

"I, uh, I feel fine. Aside from a headache."

Carlisle noticed that she wasn't looking at him, rather curiously glancing between his sons, who looked like they were having a mental argument, both sporting scowls. Turning to them, the doctor spoke, "Why don't you both wait outside, and give Alice some space.

They agreed, Jasper squeezing Alice's hand before pulling his free and walking towards the exit. Both boys proceeded to walk around the building towards the parking lot, where no humans around.

"If you turn her, the Volturi will be breathing down our necks," Edward commented, glaring at the elder vampire. "Didn't you promise Esme you wouldn't do anything to endanger our family?"

"Always prying. Can't you mind your own business?" Jasper shot back, though maintaining a relaxed postured.

"Planning to kidnap the new girl, whose family has been on the mind of most of Forks' population, isn't very wise."

"Monitor her mind, Edward, not mine."

The air between the two was tense, both analyzing each other, looking for any signs of attack.

"If your thoughts weren't so loud I-" Edward froze mid-sentence, locking onto Alice's thoughts. Her mind wasn't focused on her condition, rather the visions she'd seen as she traced the lines on his hand, specifically the life and fate lines, Alice felt as if these were connected. Intertwined hands and a kiss. She was confused.

"She's gifted." He mouthed.

A gifted human was usually difficult to find, most humans weren't aware of their gift and yet, Alice was fully aware, contemplating what her visions meant. Trying to decide if she should tell Jasper what she'd seen in her visions, or if she should keep her ability a secret.

Raising a brow, Jasper glanced towards her energy, as if a brick wall wasn't separating them. "Alice?"

"Yes. She has precognitive visions. But, they're subjective and random, she has very little control over them." There were a few minutes of silence between the two males as Edward concentrated on Alice's thoughts. "You've been her focus."

"I asked if she could read my palm."

"That isn't what I'm referring to. Before she knew who any of us were, she knew you."

Alice was barely responding to Carlisle's questions, and he realized as such, yet continued talking, allowing Edward to get a precise reading on her. See if she really was a danger to the family.

Worry came over her as she recalled the first vision she had of him, the vision of her meeting him in the coffee shop. She had the sudden realization that she wasn't exhausted as she'd been in the vision, she was quite alert and awake, and aside from the headache -which she commonly suffered from- she felt alright. A thought ran through her mind; 'Did I meet him too soon?'

Hannah expressed that Jasper visited the shop often, and rather than waiting for a day she was tired, Alice immediately flocked to him. What had come over her, making her act so rashly?

"- You don't seem to be concussed." The doctor spoke, snapping Alice out of her daze. She hoped that whatever he'd said before then wasn't important.

"I honestly don't remember hitting my head."

"It's likely you fell unconscious before hitting the ground."

Alice was suspicious, not in his confidence as a doctor, but she wasn't trusting their story. If she had hurt herself when she fell, wouldn't she feel it now? Wouldn't there be at least some essence of pain aside from a headache? At least if this fall was enough to worry Jasper. Deciding to keep quiet about her doubts, she thanked the doctor for coming to look her over.

"You're not going to tell me…?" Jasper was in disbelief at his brother's words. He'd seen whatever visions Alice had, he knew exactly what she'd seen in his future and he wasn't going to tell his covenmate a thing.

"It's not my decision to tell you." The boy shrugged his shoulders.

"No, but, the second I'm away from everyone, the entire house will know, won't they?"

The younger boy chuckled, earning a glare from the other.

A jiggle reached the two boys' ears, causing them to instantly cease their chatter, as Alice and Carlisle rounded the corner a second later. The doctor convinced Alice to let him drive her home, though she realized it was only an excuse to tell her mother about the incident that occurred. Though, since she lived so close, even if she'd refused he probably would've followed her regardless.

"We're going to take Alice home, she lives down the street." Carlisle addressed his sons.

Alice was worried and confused, a fraction of fear emitting from her. Registering this, Jasper reached out, offering his hand, and she easily took it. Carlisle and Edward exchanged a glance, this was uncharacteristic of Jasper. Usually, he loathed being so close to humans he couldn't kill.

Upon reaching the car, Jasper opened the door for Alice, and she quickly slid over, keeping him from having to walk back around to the other side. Again, their hands linked together. Edward caught on to his tactic; Rather than artificially soothing her with his ability, he opted to calm her naturally.

The closer they got to her house, the more anxious she became and the tighter she held onto the vampire's hand. From his thought's Edward realized their newest vegetarian was worried about a human. Her emotions before had been so positive, she was so pleasant to be around, and now, there was only a faint glimmer of happiness and excitement she'd originally felt. Jasper felt responsible for this and wanted to bring her happiness back. He also wanted to befriend her to learn what she'd seen in her visions.

Once they pulled up, Alice's eyes darted around, looking for her father's car, relieved when she discovered he still hadn't made it home. The hint of a smile lined Jasper's face, feeling some of her worry lift.

Again, he opened the door for the human girl, spooking her with how quickly he made it around the car, causing Edward to frown. But, she didn't think anything of it, believing she'd simply spaced out, not seeing him walk to the other side.

Edward stayed in the car, as the other three made their way towards the front door, Carlisle taking the lead, while the children lagged behind him. Lillian met them at the entrance, having heard the car doors shut, afraid that Alice had gotten in trouble.

At this point, Alice tugged her hand away from Jasper's, not wanting to play 101 questions with her mother once the Cullen's left.

"Mary Alice, you're not getting yourself in trouble, are you?" She chimed with a worried tone.

Carlisle smiled, hoping to ease her concerns. "No, she isn't in any trouble. However, she did suffer from an intense migraine, which caused her to faint."

Lillian looked over the doctor's shoulder examining her daughter who was sheepishly avoiding eye contact with her. Her mother was very aware that these episodes were usually caused by Alice straining her ability.

"I've already examined her, and I assure you there is no need to worry."

While Lillian and Carlisle conversed, Jasper subtly tugged at the sleeve of Alice's flannel. "Would you be against me visiting later?" He asked, keeping his voice down, watching Lillian's movements, making sure she wouldn't take notice of their conversation.

"Tonight?"

"After everyone is asleep."

Her heart fluttered. Was Jasper asking to sneak into her room when no one would be awake to notice? She wondered if he was the type of guy that slept around? Did he see her as just another option? Why did she want to accept the offer? Feeling lust suddenly resurface, he decided to clarify what he wanted. "I just want to talk, you kinda passed out mid-conversation."

"Oh!" She exclaimed, a bit relieved that he wasn't asking to spend the evening in her bed. "Yeah, of course. My room is around the left corner, last window." Alice surprised herself at how willingly she'd agreed to let this boy she barely knew climb into her window. But, she didn't feel any reason to distrust him.

"Midnight a good time?"

"As long as you're quiet."

Panic spiked through Lillian when the gravel crunched as a silver Porsche pulled into the driveway. Her eyes darted towards the sound, in turn causing Alice to glance behind her, copying the same anxiety her mother felt, while the car resonated with a mix of irritation and anger.

Jasper flashed their emotions over to Carlisle, who maintained a pleasant smile as Edgar stepped out of his car. The doctor could see the change in both girls' demeanors as the man approached.

"What did you do?" Edgar asked, glaring daggers at Alice, concluding that she spouted her nonsense about visions to a classmate and now had a doctor coming to talk to them about sending her to 'therapy' or whatever psychological help they wanted him to waste his money on.

"You must be Mr. Brandon, exactly who I wanted to see!"

More worry shot through Lillian, believing that Carlisle was going to repeat everything to her husband since he was the head of the house. As their neighbors in Biloxi had done whenever she tried to withhold information from him.

"Your daughter has a few classes with my son, she speaks very fondly of you. I've been searching for the perfect gift to give my wife for our upcoming anniversary, and I was hoping to schedule a meeting with you."

Both the girls and Edgar seemed to calm down, Edgar's due to Jasper's influence. He and Carlisle spoke for a few minutes before Carlisle bid the family goodbye, and the children said their goodbyes. The doctors lie put Edgar in a good mood, so neither of the girls had to endure his lectures and Alice was able to sneak off to her room without her mother following, pestering her with questions.

But, she wasn't about to escape the torment.

Alice was called to dinner, and with Edgar home, their meals were normally silent. He believed meals were meant for eating, not for conversing. It also taught the girls never to chew with their mouths open, because they didn't have any reason to open their mouths.

Tonight, Edgar broke the silence, asking one simple question, "Mary, are you seeing the doctor's boy?"

She quickly finished her bite, not wanting to make her father wait for an answer. "Um, no, we're just classmates."

"That's a shame, you should consider it."

"You two would make a cute couple." Lillian chimed in. She'd wanted Alice to find a good guy, marry quickly and get out of the house so that Edgar wasn't always breathing down her neck.

"Just don't go mentioning your hallucinations, you'll scare the poor boy away," Edgar added, looking up at her, making sure she was listening.

The second dinner was finished, Alice excused herself, heading back to her room, pretending to get ready for bed. Closing and locking her bedroom door, she let her hair down, combing it out while she ran the water for a warm, relaxing bath.

"Edward told me you were going to see that girl." The older woman spoke, joining her adoptive son on the balcony.

"Yes, I am."

Both vampires leaned against the railing, staring out into the distance rather than looking towards one another. "Why?" Her tone expressed concern, her body radiated lament. Both informing the male of an untold story. The coven's matriarch felt sorry for the stray vampire, giving him sympathy for being the only member who hadn't found his mate. Nor had he been adjusting to their lifestyle, or began to think of them as a family. He knew that wave of consolation all too well.

Dropping his gaze, he focused on the dirt below them, knowing she wouldn't accept any lie he told her. She frowned. "Jasper, why are you going to see her?"

A brief silence filled the air, while he read the woman's emotions, trying to decipher her thinking. "I'm not going to hurt her." He confirmed, wondering if that's what her distress was about.

Esme gently placed her hand over his. "I know. What I'm asking is, do you know why you're going to see her? Are you really that curious about your future, or is your curiosity embedded in Alice, herself?"

He was unable to answer.

The clock wasn't moving. No matter how much Alice silently pleaded, it wouldn't speed up. She huffed in frustration, rolling over to stare at the window, which she'd left open to better hear her friends approach. Everyone else had been asleep in the house for nearly two hours now, leaving Alice to herself, and nothing she could do made the wait any easier to bear.  
She'd bathed, shaved, brushed her hair and applied lotion everywhere, along with a slight spritz of the coconut/vanilla scented perfume she adored so much. Alice also picked out a dark blue, satin chemise and pulled on a pale yellow robe over it. Still mulling over the idea of her new friend asking for a more intimate evening.

Standing, she walked over to the window, leaning on the sill, staring out toward the forest. Before too long, while she was lost in thought, chilled fingers brushed across her arm, resulting in her gasping, and leaping back. "My apologies." Her friends' voice echoed as she composed herself.

"I don't know how I didn't notice you, I must've been daydreamin."

Jasper held a certain beauty under the moonlight, he was already gorgeous but, there was something about how the soft light danced across his skin. He was intimidating. "So, what was so important that you needed to talk to me tonight, rather than waiting till class?"

"It may be rather difficult for you to make a killing off palm reading if you don't tell your customer their future. I also figured we'd avoid undesired attention."

"Yes, I don't want to be the laughing stock of the entire town." She smiled. "Do you need help climbing up?"

A quick glance around to make sure he was the only being around, aside from Alice and her sleeping family. "I've gotten pretty good at sneaking in and out over the years. But, if you want to assist, could you back away and close your eyes?"

The pixie was a bit perplexed by this request, though she agreed and stood, backing away several steps before closing her eyes. Butterflies of excitement and wonder rushed through her while her new friend leaped through the window without the slightest sound. Standing in front of her he wondered if she realized just how close he was? If she knew he was practically breathing down her neck? Her scent was intoxicating, even more so then when he'd held her at the cafe earlier that day. Alice was in her natural habitat, comfortable.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" She questioned, linking hands behind her back while leaning forward on the balls of her feet. "You may."

Alice was warm, fluttering, and buoyant, Jasper hadn't felt such a strong pull of positive energy in quite some time. Yet, here was this girl, with more than enough reason to be bitter, spiteful and negative that enraptured him. He yearned to stand at her side.

"Wow, have you been practicin' your stealth? I didn't hear a thing."

"You asked me to be quiet and I obliged."

They two conversed for a while, eventually choosing to sit down, she on her bed and Jasper settling on the chair placed in front of her vanity. She'd explained how she read his palm, what each of the four major lines meant; The first was the heart line, which started below his middle finger. It was broken in places, with small scratch marks crossing over- This signified emotional trauma. The second, the headline, also broken, representing inconsistencies in his thoughts. The line was straight, showing that normally he was a practical thinker but recently his thought process was uncertain. The third, the life line, it was curved, close to his thumb, showing his exhaustion. This line was also shallow and short, meaning he was easily manipulated by others. Finally, there was the fate line, a line which not everyone possessed. This line showed that he was emotional and often let his emotions rule.

"And what does all that tell you about my future?"

She smiled, "Well, I'd say you're looking for companionship."

Alice was good, like all other fortune-tellers, she gave vague answers only replying with the information she already knew, phrased slightly different to catch humans off guard. But, it was obvious he was alone, he sat with his family at school, each of his adoptive siblings had their mate, while he had no one. He was alone at the cafe as well.

"Where did you learn to read palms?" He questioned nonchalantly. "Oh, um, my cousin. He lived in Louisianna, New Orleans actually." Alice pronounced it as OR-lins, rather than the common misconception of Naw-lins. "We once took a trip there and he got a woman that works at Marie Leveau's House of Voodoo to teach me." She sighed, "My father wasn't very pleased when he found out…"

Jasper's brows pulled together, recalling how that man had acted earlier. "How come?" He tried keeping a polite tone, despite his distaste for the man.

"He doesn't like me talking about my-" She hesitated, close to spilling her secret. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk about it, people usually get freaked out and I don't want to ruin our potential friendship."

Hoping to reassure her, he spoke; "Whatever it is, you're not going to frighten me away. But, if you're not ready, I'm not going to pressure you."

"Thanks…"

Continuing idle chatter, Alice asked about the area, wondering about restaurants, bookstores, and clothing outlets. There were a couple of places nearby she was interested in, but, the clothing stores seemed to be secondhand, she'd likely have to plan a trip out to Seattle to find the styles she preferred. Jasper was closely monitoring her emotions, which were turbulent, difficult to read. She wanted to tell him what she'd seen, yet, she was afraid that he'd treat her like everyone else, his disassociate from her and begin calling her a witch or a changeling. Alice was fighting herself, deciding to tell him one second, only to silence herself before she could even open her mouth.

Finally, around 1:00 AM, Jasper alerted her that he should leave, if either of them were going to get any sleep. He bid her goodnight before standing heading over to the window mumbling about seeing her at school the next day when she grabbed his hand, calling out: "Wait!" The chime of her voice caught him off guard.

A wave of guilt erupted from her, matching the expression on her face. "Is something wrong?" He questioned, glancing back at Alice. Taking a deep breath, a small flame of determination sparked its way to the surface. "Yes." A trace of confidence in her tone. "My father doesn't want me to tell anyone about my gift, but, it involves you, and you have a right to know…"

"You don't owe me an explanation."

"I know!" She interrupted. "I want to tell you, Jasper. I **want** to prove to my father that he's wrong…"

The vampire turned to face the small human. A frown lined her face and he hated it. She was happy, carefree, a look of sorrow didn't belong on her.

"Alright."

Her eyes fell to the floor while crossing her arms. "Where do I even begin?" She asked herself more than him. "Do you believe in magic or miracles? Whatever you wanna call it..."

Jasper rested his hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her. "Magic, yes. Miracles, not so much."

"I know it sounds insane but, I guess you could say I have a type of magic. Ever since I was little, I've had these glimpses, visions of the future. I don't know how or why, and sometimes they aren't accurate, but, I've figured out that I can force them, and at the cafe when I was reading your palm, I did just that. But, I didn't see just you…" Her cheeks darkened, "I saw both of us, together. Like, together-together. I think."

The room went quiet, Alice couldn't meet his gaze, she was far too embarrassed for that. The longer they were silent, the stronger her sorrow grew. Jasper was trying to process what she'd told him, he understood why Edward hadn't said a word about it, this wasn't Edward's message to relay.

"I understand if you don't believe me, or you think I'm weird…" She sighed, her voice breaking.

"Why wouldn't I believe you?"

"Because it sounds crazy! Because it is crazy! I mean, I barely know you, and here I am telling you I'm psychic, and that we have a future together, that just sounds psycho!" She shrieked, keeping her voice as quiet as possible, to avoid waking her parents up. A heat traveled to her face, attempting to spill out of her eyes.

"Alice, you're not insane. You have a gift. I'm grateful that you decided to share it with me."

She looked up to him, a liquid sheen brightening the iris of her eyes, swallowing, Alice felt the lump forming in her throat. Her arms slipped under his, wrapping around his waist as she pressed face into his jacket.

Her aroma still smelled intoxicating, but, Jasper managed to push the thought from his mind, wanting nothing more than to see the smile return to her face. He returned the embrace, holding her for quite some time as she softly wept, overwhelmed by everything going through her mind.

Alice's breathing was shaky, calming the longer they held each other until she felt comfortable enough to release her grip, wiping her tears off on the sleeve of her robe. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so emotional, I just, I didn't want to mess things up."

"Don't apologize for being upset. You have the right, you were scared. I'm going to keep your secret and-" He paused, lost in thought, "I'd like to start seeing you. Even if all we do is go to the cafe once a week." He'd likely get an earful from Edward and the rest of the family but, Alice was different from other humans, she intrigued him.

"But, we can talk more about that tomorrow, right now, we do need to get some rest," Jasper demanded, and Alice seemed to comply, giving him a slow nod, stifling a yawn.

They bid each other goodnight yet again before Jasper left her window, heading around the house until she could no longer see him. Once out of sight he leaped on the roof of the house, circling around and dropping down near her window long enough to make sure she was in her bed, before using his gift to calm her mind and lull her to sleep.

**To be continued...**


	4. Decode

"The venom's been in her system too long." A voice called out with a methodical tone. "We have two choices, let the venom run its course, or let her die."

Alice was left in the darkness, unable to see or do anything, focusing solely on a searing pain that spread across her left shoulder. She heard screaming, yet, she was unable to pinpoint where it was coming from.

The shouting and pain faded as the darkness gave way to a new scene: An evening stroll through town, crisp autumn breezes leaving goosebumps across her skin. She was heading downtown, walking home from the cafe, a frigid hand with broad fingers and thick nails gripped her own. The space between the thumb and forefinger was raised, slightly colder than the rest of the hand, the stranger was easily recognized as Jasper, and she affectionately leaned into him.

As they neared her house, she drifted away, dropping his hand. This was customary, as Alice preferred to keep a modest appearance in front of others, especially her parents. Soon she came to a stop, her head beginning to pound, the burning along her shoulder returning. Jasper drew to a halt, glancing back to ask if she was alright. Once she reassured him, they started walking again. In a hurry to catch up with her lover, Alice quickened her pace, her glove catching on a chain-link fence, a metal point slicing her skin.

"Oh no…" Was all she could mouth before the vampire turned around, lunging for her.

**Chapter Four: Decode  
****  
****'**Bzzzt! Bzzzt!' The doorbell buzzed at a frantic pace.

Alice rolled over, pulling the blankets over her head, before begrudgingly peeking out to read the time shining across her alarm clock. **6:30 am**, later than she'd planned to sleep! Checking the clock, she noted that her alarm wasn't set, and she didn't remember setting it before falling to sleep. Her mother hadn't come to wake her up, either, now she had to rush through her morning routine.

"Good morning Mrs. Brandon, may I come in?" Alice heard Nicole's shrill voice echo through the house. She sounded excited- a bit too excited for a normal school day.

Alice was confused. For the last few weeks, Nicole had been picking the girls up and taking them to school, so they wouldn't have to walk in the rain, but today she arrived way earlier than normal.

"Yes dear, of course, just keep your voices down this morning, Edgar is still sleepin'," Lillian replied, stepping aside for the young girl.

Nikki's footsteps were rapidly approaching, Alice knew she only had a few seconds to get out of bed to unlock her door before her friend bashed through it. The door swung open, nearly hitting Alice in the process before the crazed woman pushed it shut.

"Girl!" She hollered as if Lillian hadn't just asked her to keep quiet. "I **NEED** DETAILS!"

Alice stretched, stifling a yawn before heading over to her vanity, ready to prepare for the day. "Details about what? Did you forget to study for our English exam or something?"

"Um…. Jasper** fucking** Hale, that's what!" Irritation was plastered across her face. "Are you seriously going to start seeing him and not tell me!? Hannah told me you met him at her family's cafe and he took you home. And I didn't get a single call, or text, or email! Did your fingers stop working?"

"Oh-oh, that… Kinda thought it was a dream…" Alice replied groggily.

Picking up on her vocal patterns and facial expressions Nikki gasped. "Oh my god, please don't tell me that you slept with him and it wasn't good, I will seriously be super disappointed…"

The petite girl's eyes widened. "Quiet! Do you want my mom to hear? No, we didn't sleep together!"

"Awww…" Nikki sounded like a disappointed child. "I was kinda hoping you had a bit of fun. I'm guessing you didn't do any other activities? Like did you-"

"We just talked!" Alice exclaimed, face bright red. "I can't believe I forgot to set my alarm after he left…" She added, chastising herself, thinking about how much she had to do in the next hour.

The brunette walked over slamming her hands down in front of Alice. "Excuse me? I was told the Cullen's left your place at a decent time. How did you not remember to set your alarm? Unless…." Nikki dramatized a gasp, doing her best to impersonate Lillian's voice. "Mary Alice Brandon, was that boy in your room?"

"Yeah, he wanted to make sure I was alright."

"A phone call wouldn't have done the trick? Are you sure he wasn't trying to get lucky?"

"Well, if he wanted to get lucky, he didn't do a good job of convincing me to sleep with him. I was thinking about that while waiting for him to show up and I might've given him a shot, -if he played his cards right."

Another gasp, this one was real. "Girl, you realize he's in for good now, right? At least if that bullshit about women deciding if they're gonna screw a guy within the first five minutes is true."

Alice sighed. "Yeah, maybe. I'd like to get to know him a little better first."

"You wanted him last night." Nikki teased.

"Oh, hush. I can change my mind."

Continuing to get ready Alice suffered through Nikki's perverted comments, doing her best to ignore them as she locked her friend on the other side of the bathroom door. She felt strange like something was trying to claw its way out from her chest. Her heart was pounding, embarrassment flooding her cheeks, turning them a burning red. Taking a deep breath, she tried clearing her thoughts of the honey-blond boy, willing away the fluttering warmth that rooted deep in her stomach, which simultaneously made her nauseous and comforted her.

Her eyes snapped shut as if that was the cure to erasing everything she felt. Why did she feel so strongly about him now? Perhaps she was too tired for her emotions to be as intense last night, as they were now. Remembering how long he'd been willing to hold her, to comfort her, made her lips form a smile, and her shoulders tremble.

"Kept her up that late? Think she'll even show up to school?" The brute hollered as Jasper tried to have a private conversation with the chatelaine of the family. The interruption earned Emmett a glare from both.

"You did very well, Jasper." Esme praised, treating him like her own child. "If I would've told you this yesterday, you wouldn't have believed you were capable of such a feat. But, you managed to walk away from your temptation."

A bag landed on the counter next to the pair. "She's right, you've improved a lot these last two years." A woman with dark hair commented. "Another couple of years and you'll have total control."

Being a master eccedentesiast, he faked a smile. Jasper didn't believe that he'd ever have what it takes to be like them. Whenever Bella was a newborn, she had instant control. She slipped up for a minute or two and managed to pull herself out of the frenzy. The other Cullen's had a few slip-ups when they first began their vegetarian life, -aside from the head of the coven-, but none of them made mistakes as he had.

He'd started his vegetarian journey in the late '60s and his last taste of human blood was in September. The time before that had caused enough of a ruckus to prompt their move to Forks. The Cullen's assured him time and time again that he just needed to practice, with effort came reward. But, with his upbringing, he adamantly believed there was no saving him. And with his gift, he knew exactly how the rest of the family felt.

Esme truly believed in him, for that, he believed she was foolish.  
Carlisle was hopeful and kind. Yet, hidden behind his kindness was doubt.  
Edward and Rosalie saw him as a burden. Whenever something happened, they were the first to speak their minds.  
Emmet was indifferent. In a way, He believed that Emmet was hopeful as well. He and Rosalie had argued a few times because of how she treated Jasper.  
Bella felt sorry for him. She heard his stories and wanted him to find solace in the family.  
He wasn't sure about Renesmee. She had a different way of expressing herself, and at times it threw his gift off.

What made everything worse, was Alice. She felt positive about him, always excited, happy, and she'd even expressed worry for his safety. If she knew what he was, who he was, she wouldn't feel the same. Yet, when he saw Edward and Bella, he felt hopeful. Maybe she'd want to stick around, despite knowing the truth.

"Bella was a special case." The bronze-haired vampire replied, joining his mate at the door. "I didn't tell her anything, she figured out what we were on her own. And you can't tell Alice anything, it doesn't matter if she told you her secret."

As they walked out, ready to head to school Esme gently placed her hand on Jasper's shoulder, causing him to wait as the others went ahead. "Do what you think is best. But, just give her a little time to get to know you before you decide."

She always had been a hopeless romantic.

After a quick breakfast, all three girls were ready to make their way to school, though Alice and Cynthia both hesitated in the doorway, enchanted with the blanket of white covering everything. Yesterday night's air was chilled, but she hadn't expected to wake up to fresh snowfall. Biloxi rarely got snow. In fact, their annual snowfall is marked as 0 inches.

Nikki seemed a little bewildered at the sister's reaction, leading Lillian to interrupt them. "The girls haven't seen snow like this since they were small. I believe Alice was only ten at the time, and Cynthia was just barely walkin'."

"Well, I'm sure this is very exciting, however, if we don't leave, we're going to be late for class!"

The drive to school was interesting, albeit slower. Delicate flurries of white drifted down, melding with flakes from the previous evening. The crystalline fragments clung to every surface but looked especially beautiful on foliage. Nikki dropped Cynthia off first, having Alice walk her inside before hopping back into the car. They drove the next block over, parking in the high school lot, seeing several of the boys engaged in a snowball fight.

"Oh boy. Looks like they've started their blizzard royale early. Bet the teachers are gonna love it." Nikki commented sarcastically. "Just try to move fast and you hopefully won't get hit with muddy snowballs. That's Richard's specialty."

Alice nodded, trying to figure out which path towards the school would be the one less likely to get them pummeled. But her carefully calculated plans were halted whenever she spotted the Cullen's. The two girls darted to a set of double doors, while the boys lagged behind them, seemingly not bothered by the possibility of snow being slapped against their jackets. Suddenly Alice didn't care if she were hit, she leapt out of the vehicle, carelessly leaving her bag behind as she ran to catch up to the Cullens, stopping only to scoop up and pack together a snowball.

Unbeknownst to her Edward glanced behind the trio, deciphering what she was up to. He was about to nudge the others out of the way whenever Emmet looked back to see Alice lobbing her ball towards them. Her aim was off, the trajectory guided the ball slightly to the left, enough to miss her target. Emmet wasn't about to let that happen.  
Seconds before the ball would've impacted with the cement, he shoved Jasper to the side, and being within the sight of humans, Jasper stumbled to avoid suspicion allowing the snowball to collide with the back of his head.

The brute laughed, pointing back at Alice whose cheeks were currently flushed red. She'd meant to hit him, just not the back of his head. Jasper's irritation soothed away when she came into view. He wasn't sure how he hadn't caught her scent, perhaps he was too distracted by his conversation with Esme.

"I'm so sorry, I swear I was aiming for your back." Alice apologized, giving him a sheepish smile.

Nicole grabbed Alice's bag along with her own before carefully running between the parked cars, watching the snow battle rage on. "Girl, imagine if you would've slipped on the ice. Not only would you be cold, and have a sore ass, but you would've risked getting salty sludge all over your fancy coat."

"Well, I didn't plan on slipping." The pixie-sized girl replied with a roll of her eyes.

While making her sassy remarks, Jasper moved closer startling her whenever he spoke, "Would you mind if I walked you to your first class?"

The reactions around him were mixed, Nikki was exhilarated for Alice, immediately giving her friend's bag back to her, saying that she'd see her in class before heading through the cafeteria to meet up with the rest of their friend group. Emmett's response was also positive, giving his brother a thumb's up, turning to follow the other Cullen's, nudging Edward's shoulder, motioning him to follow, and reluctantly he did.

Alice smiled, reaching out and grabbing Jasper's hand. "You know, I was actually hoping that we'd get a moment alone, I do have a couple of questions about last night." A timorous aura lingered over her.

"Is anything wrong?" He questioned, as they began their slow stride towards building three.

"Well," Alice kept her voice low, so other students nearby couldn't overhear. "Last night when you suggested that we start seeing each other, did you mean dating or were you preferring we have a fling?"

"I may be old fashioned, but, I would prefer to get to know you for a while longer before proceeding to such a physical stage." Jasper was a bit nervous about her inquiries. He was already struggling to choke down his thirst being this close, he couldn't imagine her surviving an intimate evening with him.

She felt relieved at his answer, Nicole was wrong about his interest in getting lucky a few times. "Oh good, I was hoping you'd say that." A nervous giggle escaped. "I don't mind if you want to continue sneaking into my room after midnight, though."

"I'll consider it, but maybe we can keep that as a weekend activity, you do need your rest."

Being close to the vampire brought her a strange comfort. The normal reaction Jasper felt from others was the need to escape, to run away, and to put as much distance as possible between them and himself. The warmth Alice felt was a nice change of pace.  
He didn't expect the young human to pull him closer, as she linked their arms together, her free hand clutching the fabric of his jacket.

"Do you want to hang out after school?" She asked sheepishly. "We could go to the cafe, or we could go for a-" Alice fell silent, fragments of her dream returning as she remembered the walk they'd went on.

"For a walk?" Jasper finished her sentence, noting her newfound concern.

Alice's energy level's dropped as her worry increased, she was almost panicked, just on the bridge of wanting to turn tail and run.  
"Hey, this may seem sudden but I had this strange dream last night. You were walking me home, or we went for a walk when I cut my hand on a fence or something and when you noticed the blood, you freaked out."

The vampire let out a soft, nervous chuckle. "I can imagine, the sight of blood makes me… uneasy." He lied, suddenly aware of the thirst lingering in the back of his throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wouldn't have mentioned it if I'd known.." She apologized, seeing her friends sudden discomfort.

He held his breath, trying to will away the desire to drain her blood, not wanting to admit that the thought of leading her away in order to discreetly kill her was very tempting right now. He needed to excuse himself before his instincts took over.

"About tonight…" He started off slowly, with a gentle tone. "I've already made prior arrangements." Jasper expected disappointment to radiate off his human friend but Alice remained in her chipper mood. "Oh, that's fine. So, could I have your phone number? Maybe we could make plans for the weekend or spring break or something?"

He could feel the slight shift in his stance as he subconsciously prepared to hunt her. "Maybe later, I've got to get to class." He spoke sort of rushed, as he turned and began walking away.

And there it was, that drop in happiness he'd been anticipating. He nearly flinched at her newfound negativity, suffering because he wasn't able to control himself, just because she'd mentioned the word -blood-. God forbid if she actually bled around him.

"Sure, I'll see you later…" She replied with a fake smile, mentally chastising herself for even mentioning her dream or visions. Maybe her father was right, she'd run off anyone she tried to befriend if she kept mentioning the premonitions.

Turning, she started to head towards building 3, quickening her pace as if she herself were in a rush. Her emotions were trying to get the better of her as her thoughts told her that she was nothing but a freak. And while Jasper was losing the battle with his hunger, he knew he couldn't just leave Alice in silence. He caught back up to her with ease and wrapped his arms around her, frightening her for a moment before she realized who it was. "Have a nice day, doll." He softly whispered using his southern charm, before releasing her and continuing his stroll back to building 1. And Alice stood there dumbfounded for a minute, the emotions that were swelling in her throat now burning in her cheeks. Her smile returned to a genuine state as she watched him leave, still curious as to what had gotten into him.

Once she reached the classroom, she was greeted by Nikki, who gave her a suspicious look whenever she saw her friend alone with a confused look on her face. "Did something happen? Don't tell me the two of you broke up already."

Alice forced a laugh. "We're technically not dating, he just said he wanted to see more of me."

"Yeah! He wants to see more of you, he snuck into your room, and girl, have you seen the way he looks at you? He's totally into, I don't know why you would doubt your status."

Before the raven-haired pixie could speak, her friend interrupted again, "It's probably his siblings! They're so weirdly close, they must be hounding him, complaining about him talking to someone outside of the family." Alice was surprised at Nicole's reaction, wondering if she was ever given the cold shoulder by the family?

As the hours ticked by, Jasper successfully vanished, nowhere to be seen. He didn't show up to any of his classes and he wasn't sitting at the Cullen's table during lunch. Alice tried calming her mind down by convincing herself that he was so queasy around blood the thought of it made him ill and the nurse sent him home sick.

Despite her efforts, she couldn't help but glance over to their table. She wanted to talk to them, ask about him, but they were all so unapproachable. She was analyzing each of them, trying to figure out which would be more willing to speak with her.

Rosalie was instantly ruled out. While she was Jasper twin, she was too standoffish and most likely to get aggressive if Alice walked up to her. Even now she wore a scowl directed at the petite girl.

Bella seemed friendly enough, but also seemed to be the kind that kept family matters hush-hush.

Edward had a knowledgeable air about him yet she got the impression that he already made up his mind about talking to her before she even decided to get out of her seat. He seemed good at reading people.

Finally, there was Emmett. He and Jasper seemed to get along well enough and he seemed like he'd be a friendly guy- if she could get him away from Rosalie. From what she'd noticed those two had most of their classes together, so that wasn't likely.

"Um, earth to Alice." The voice of her friend pulled her from her thoughts. Everyone at the table stared at her with a worried expression, not sure how long she'd been spacing out.

"Hmm? What's up?" She responded, a little dazed.

"Do you want to come with us to the beach this weekend?" Nathan repeated his earlier question. "The weather is supposed to be nice for a change," Michaela added.

"You know I could talk to your parents for you. Convince them it'll be a girl's only, supervised get together." Nicole offered, deviously.

Alice smiled, moving her fork around the tray. "Yeah, sure, that sounds great. Who all have you invited?"

"Everone at this table, and Richard's brother, so far. Don't want too big of a group, lunch would get expensive." Nathan informed.

Nikki threw her arm around Alice's shoulders. "You should come, the beaches here aren't anything like the beaches in Missippi. Nowhere near as crowded."

Alice's friend's successfully managed to distract her at lunch, giving the Cullen's time to disappear, as if they knew about her plan to speak with them. Bella shared a single class with her and when the bell rang, she wasn't in her seat. This made Alice grow increasingly frustrated. Not only had Jasper vanished but now his entire family left school? She was beginning to think they did somehow know what she was thinking. It would explain why there were days they sat in silence but also seemed to have full conversations. Maybe Jasper was so accepting of her gift because his entire family is gifted? This thought gave Alice a bit of hope.

It wasn't long after the final bell rang that Alice heard Nicole's shrill voice calling out to her. "So, I called your mama and invited myself to dinner so I could talk to her about the beach trip, hope you don't mind."

Alice was a bit worried that she'd once again be forced to listen to Nicole's sexual remarks about Jasper as she had this morning but still she smiling saying that she didn't mind. Hopefully, her company would keep her mind off of Jasper.

After picking up Cynthia from school, the three girls headed to the Brandon residence. Cynthia was telling the older girls about her day and her apparent crush on a boy in her class. Nicole noted how oddly quiet Alice had been through the entire car ride. Alice hadn't even budged when Cynthia walked into the house, proudly announcing that she had a boyfriend, earning a glare from Edgar, who was currently reading the paper in the living room, and a curious glance from Lillian who leaned against the kitchen doorway. The two eldest girls slipped off their shoes before heading back into Alice's room.

"So…" Nikki began as soon as the door shut. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Growing up Alice didn't have much of a support system. There was her cousin but after his parents failed to heed Alice's warning, she tragically lost him. Her aunt branded her as a monster that day, saying that she wanted nothing to do with Edgar and his family as long as the "witch' was alive.

At first, she didn't want to say a word, but the more she thought about it, there was one question she wanted to be answered. "Actually, yes. Why were you so quick to blame his family?"

Nicole was a little taken aback by the question.

"Ah, well, last year, when I first moved here I didn't realize they'd all hooked up with each other and I was hardcore flirting with Emmett. He wasn't reciprocating it but I assumed he was either playing hard to get or the clueless jock. You know how guys are." She let out a frustrated sigh, "Rosalie, the blonde girl, she's the jealous type and not only did her day's consist of her glaring at me, one day she cornered me in the bathroom and told me not to go near Emmett again or I'd regret it. It was pretty fucking terrifying."

Nicole laid back on the bed, arm's behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling. "'Course Edward scolded her for it. Said something about she didn't need to attract unwanted attention and she could've handler the situation calmer. Bella apologized for her but I really didn't understand why she'd gotten so upset. Like I thought he was worth fighting over."

Alice was pleased with herself for figuring out that neither Edward nor Rosalie were the ones to approach and after hearing Nikki's story, Emmet was also out of the question. Perhaps it was Bella that she should consider talking to.

"So, that's the reason you think Jasper left school?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking they're part of it," Nicole confirmed. "They all avoid the other students, they're also super smart, but every so often they get a couple bad grades so people don't realize how smart they are. Lately, I've been wondering if Richard's mafia theory is true. It'd explain why they're so difficult to approach."

The petite girl raised a brow, "What make's you think that?"

"You know- How sometimes when they're around you just get the urge to run. Almost like you're the prey and they're the hunters? That's why they sit so secluded from everyone. People are scared of them, but no one wants to admit it, so the next best option is to let them be alone, you know?" Nicole wore a guilty expression on her face. "It's kinda sad, cause Carlisle does so much for this community and in return, we shun them. No one invites them anywhere."

Alice thought about everything her friend told her and everything she witnessed before shrugging her shoulders, "Maybe they want to be secluded."

"Why do you think they want that?"

"Well, let's entertain the mafia theory: If they are associated with the mafia, then they likely fled from their group, moving to a small town where people wouldn't recognize them. So it's easier for them to be outcasted, rather than having friends that pry."

Nicole seemed to believe the idea. "That would explain their strange family, they're so mix and match. Maybe the doctor saved the kids from falling into the wrong crowd?"

The two girls soon changed the subject, Alice asked about La Push and Nicole alerted her that some of the kids from the reservation would likely be joining them. She then talked about how hot the Quileute boys were until Lillian called them for dinner.

This time their usually quiet dinner was full of conversation. Edgar didn't talk much but allowed the girls to gossip among themselves. Lillian wanted to plan a trip to Seattle with the girls and asked Nicole if her fathers would mind. They could also visit some of the parks rather than spending the entire day shopping. They could even make it a weekend getaway. Nicole suggested that one weekend they should all head to California, to enjoy the sunshine, rather than all the rain. Edgar entertained this idea more-so than the idea of them going to Seattle.

Soon enough dinner was over and everyone begrudgingly took part in family game night where Nikki showed her competitive side, winning most of the rounds. Alice was also surprised to see that Nicole and her father got along well.  
It started getting late and Nicole excused herself, saying that she should probably head home before her dads got too worried, before leaving she told Alice she'd see her in the morning. Lillian and Edgar head upstairs to put Cynthia to bed and Alice headed to her own room, unraveling her mess of thoughts from everything that had happened today.

She opened her window letting the crisp night air into her room as she leaned on the sill, closing her eyes, concentrating on Jasper, wondering if she could still see the visions of the two of them together. She focused all of her thoughts on her previous reverie and she was blessed with the familiar fogginess consuming her thoughts.

Tree's towered over the surrounding area, the moon and stars illuminating the landscape just enough to show the varying shades of the foliage. The evening was full of navy blues and violets, swirling and mixing as if the normal night sky was its own galaxy. Everything was so vivid, far beyond what her normal human eyesight could comprehend. The world blurred, before coming to a stop, the Brandon house coming into view, heading alongside it towards Alice's window, a hand reached out to grab Alice's own, the air carrying a familiar redolence, the cologne Jasper wore. A smile spread across the young girls' face.

Jasper was acting strange and it was because he too had a secret, just like hers. Alice automatically came to the conclusion that he wasn't human, his world was far too beautiful for that.

It wasn't long before she felt the coolness of his skin against hers, slowly, she opened her eyes to meet his own.

"Did I scare you?"

"Nope," She beamed. "I saw you coming."

His eyes were such a bright shade of amber, she could've sworn his eyes were darker, but regardless she found herself lost in them, looking down at him for a change.

"So, why are you here?"

He smiled, fingers curling around her hand. "Well, a certain little pixie asked for my number, and I came to deliver." His free hand produced a folded piece of paper. Cautiously she reached out, taking it, examining it to make sure it was indeed a phone number.

"Do you want to come inside?" She offered. It was getting late and her parents were likely still awake, but if they kept quiet, her parents would be none the wiser. "No, I shouldn't stay too much longer."

Alice frowned at his response, jerking her hand free. "Fine." She took a step back from the window, using her dresser as leverage to lift herself onto the sill before dropping outside, Jasper helping her catch her balance.

"How are you going to get back inside?"

"You're going to help me." She smiled proudly. "If you can effortlessly climb in, you can help me back up." Her arms quickly wrapped around his waist as she buried her face into his jacket. "Why did you leave so suddenly? Are you ok? Are we-"

He returned the embrace, running a hand through her hair, able to restrain himself a bit better now that he'd had a meal. "I'm fine, Alice." He replied, not offering an explanation as to where he'd been all day, or why all of his siblings left.

Again, Alice took a step back, he could feel the irritation swelling. "Don't lie to me, ok? I know something was wrong with you. You and your family, you're different and I'm not going to beg you to tell me what make's you all so different, but, you listened to me when I told you my secret, so, please, don't shut me out when something is bothering you. You don't have to be specific, however, I'd like a little warning when you're just going to up and leave school."

Jasper carefully listened to the small humans' words, noting the strange determination that flowed through her emotions as she spoke and he realized that he was definitely getting in an argument with Edward when he got home because he wasn't going to leave Alice's side, now that she had suspicions about his family.

"You're right. We are very different than most families…" 

**To be continued...**

* * *

Sorry about the delay, but with Midnight Sun's official release being revealed, I figured I should get to finishing chapter 4! I hope you all are doing alright during this pandemic.

I actually caught the virus back in Feb and it was not fun at all.  
That being said I am alright now :)

Anyway, I'm not sure how long till chapter 5 will be up because I am an essential worker and I happen to make hand sanitizer that we supply directly to hospitals and a handful of other essential/ medical items.

Ciao~


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